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This year marks Canada’s sesquicentennial, but the history of people on this land goes back far beyond 150 years. In Toronto and Scarborough, the estimate is 10,000 to 13,000 years. The first people recorded in the area in written history were the Huron-Wendat, a confederacy of four nations.

A new installation on the UTSC campus commemorates the 150th anniversary of Canada's confederation with a scale model of the solar system. The placement of the markers reflects the exact locations of the celestial objects on July 1, 1867.

“This is our own way of celebrating Canada 150,” said Scarborough Cycles project coordinator Marvin Macaraig, who helped organize the event. “It’s definitely going to be fun. There’s a lot to see in Scarborough and we want to show people that cycling isn’t just for downtown.”

The 35-kilometre ride visited seven key historical points around Scarborough. Participants were guided by a website with an interactive map, pictures and descriptions of the stops, and a nine-part audio tour. Watch the video on Facebook.

150 Neighbours is a recognition program that includes a photo documentary series led by the University of Toronto Scarborough to mark the momentous occasion of Canada’s sesquicentennial. Launching July 1, the social media-driven and crowd-sourced campaign will, over 150 days, feature 150 members of the community who are good neighbours, community and nation builders, past and present.

A new exhibition on campus has an alternate view of Canada’s sesquicentennial — that of those left out of the country’s flawed utopia. Unsettling, an exhibition addressing the tension between Scarborough’s Indigenous past and its present urban sprawl, is at the Doris McCarthy Gallery from June 22 to July 22 and then again from Sept. 5 to Oct. 21.

As Canada approaches its 150th birthday, University of Toronto Scarborough’s Paloma Villegas has used this opportunity to reflect on Scarborough’s diverse past and how it continues to develop into an equally fascinating future. Read more.

The 35-kilometre ride visited seven key historical points around Scarborough. Participants were guided by a website with an interactive map, pictures and descriptions of the stops, and a nine-part audio tour. Read more.

As an unabashed Canadian nationalist, I’ve been looking forward to Canada’s 150. It’s an opportunity to refresh and strengthen explicitly pan-Canadian institutions and forms of cultural expression in a way that stimulates new ideas and energy for the decades and challenges ahead. Read more.

“The University of Toronto grew up with Canada and our rich history and the country’s history are inseparable,” said Ainslie. “The sesquicentennial gives us a chance to critically examine the country’s past, present and future and the university welcomes the opportunity to be a leading participant in these discussions.” Read more.

The long history of European exploration, trade and settlement in North America has not been beneficial to the Indigenous peoples. The creation and expansion of the Canadian state has meant the paternalistic control of their lives and their lands, and a concerted effort to inhibit if not eliminate their economies, languages and cultural practices. One of the most sorry chapters in this story was the forced removal of their children from families and communities, boarding them in distant residential schools, and trying to strip them of their languages and culture. This is not ancient history. In many cases, as we have shockingly heard from survivors, some residential schools operated as recently as 25 years ago. Read more

The injustices Indigenous people have faced throughout history have become a big focus for the Canadian government. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Canada recently published Calls to Action outlining the ways the country can continue the reconciliation process and improve the future for all Indigenous people. Read more.

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We wish to acknowledge this land on which the University of Toronto operates. For thousands of years it has been the traditional land of the Huron-Wendat, the Seneca, and most recently, the Mississaugas of the Credit River. Today, this meeting place is still the home to many Indigenous people from across Turtle Island and we are grateful to have the opportunity to work on this land.